


The Fall of the Paladins

by Rose_Andrews



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Damn you Zarkon, Dark fic, Death, Feels, Gen, Hate the Villains Not the Writer, If Everything Went Wrong More Than Usual AU, If You're Felling Edgy You've Come To The Right Place, Instead I chose death, Man I could be writing fluff, Sad, Sad Ending, Sooooo much death, Torture, slight romance if you squint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 23:19:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Andrews/pseuds/Rose_Andrews
Summary: After a mission gone horribly wrong, Shiro and the others have been captured by the Galrans, their lions taken and given to the devious Lord Zarkon. Now, as the Galran's prisoners, they face their inevitable execution.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! I was browsing and decided, hey death is fun to write about. Anyways, this is the first chapter of what I hope will be a full six chapter story. I do hope you enjoy it, even if it may be a little dark! Thank you very much for reading and please tell me if you like it! I do not own Voltron or any of its characters

Shiro struggled against the cuffs digging into his wrists, rubbing them raw as he fought desperately. The cuffs were restraining his hands behind his back and the Paladin could feel the cuffs being pulled to the wall by some sort of magnetic force. However, the irritating bonds weren't the chief thing on his mind. What was causing him to fight so hard like a man dying of thirst reaching for water was the image before him. 

Four young bodies were kneeling before him, bound and gagged with eyes peering around, expressions ranging from terrified to confused to furious. Shiro could do nothing to soothe his fellow Paladins before him, like he usually did after near death battles. 

"Shh," he would say as he held Pidge close, Lance resting his head on the older mans shoulder as they huddled around in the common area. "We did it. We defeated the Galrans. The battle was won." They would all then stay that way, comforted by one another, until Princess Allura shooed them off to bed with hugs to each. 

Shiro couldn't reach them now. All he could do was watch as they looked to him for guidance, for any semblance of hope. Shiro already began to give up, limbs growing tired and soul dimming. The one thing that kept him from submitting to his fate was his friends. I have to protect them, he thought with a fire of determination. They are counting on me!

"Hang in, team," he encouraged, voice ragged from the yelling and screaming he already did. "We...we can get out of this." Shiro wasn't sure why he was left free to talk. Was it so he could instill false hope into the others? Or perhaps it was because they intended to torture Shiro and wanted to hear his screams. Either way, he cursed the sadistic Lord Zarkon and his cruel methods.  
Speak of the devil, the door whooshed open, filling the cell with slightly brighter light. The damned Lord Zarkon stormed in, violet eyes alight with delight at the sight of his enemies in chains before him. Shiro glared with all of the fury he possessed in his being at the evil ruler. Nevertheless, he held his tongue. His friends lives were at stake and he wasn't going to risk them at the prospect of insulting the Galran. 

"Well, well, well," Zarkon chided, hands clasped behind his back as he observed each Paladin. "It would seem Princess Allura's Paladins have failed her, along with the entire galaxy. What a shame." Shiro noticed the venom in Lance's gaze as he seemed to try to kill the lord with his stare alone, which proved to be ineffective. "I can't say I'm surprised, however. You were all a batch of fools to begin with." Keith stirred, moving his head whilst twisting his shoulders in an attempt to wrench himself free of the bonds, a muffled snap swallowed by the gag. Shiro flashed a warning look to Keith, a plea to remain silent. 

Shiro could only watch in horror as Lord Zarkon grabbed a handful of Keiths famous mullet and yanked it upwards, lifting the teen clear off his knees. His arms were stretched out as he was pulled forward and an audible scream of pain wrestled itself from behind the cloth in place. "Stop!" Shiro begged suddenly, unable to stand the sound of his younger friends being tormented. "Please, let him go!"

"Ah, Champion. I remember you as the sensitive type. You hated when your friends were hurt back then." Zarkon dropped Keith and the Red Paladin fell to his knees with a painful sounding 'THUD'. "I see not much has changed." Shiro met the Galran Lords gaze. 

"What do you want from us, Lord," he spat the honorific, "Zarkon?" The giant of a Galran approached the tied up Black Paladin and Shiro couldn't help but feel relieved. At least the unwanted attention was pulled from his friends. Lord Zarkon marched up to Shiro and backhanded him, causing the Paladin's head to wrench to the side. Pidge cried out in protest and Hunk gave an experimental tug at his handcuffs, all of which sent pride and compassion to Shiro's heart. Even in their state of terror and weakness they wanted to help Shiro and each other. The realization alone wanted to make Shiro cry. 

"What do I want, you ask?" Zarkon echoed. "I wanted Voltron and now, I have Voltron. All I need to do now is exterminate the pests that had infested them." The cruel, lilting tone of the Galran chilled Shiro to the marrow of his bones. 

"Kill me if you want!" Shiro declared, eyes darting to his teammates. They all looked heartbroken, shaking their heads slightly. "Do to me what you will, but let them go!" Zarkon barked a laugh, brief and humorless. Shiro knew somewhere in the back of his mind that Lord Zarkon would never let them go just like that. He wasn't so merciful. 

"Champion, you think too highly of me," scolded the lord. He placed a hand on Shiro's shoulder as one would to a friend. "You think I would release them after you disrupted my plans for so long, after you dangled Voltron before me many times only to snatch it from my grasp?" Another slap sent Shiro slamming into the wall behind him, black spots dancing across his vision. "You are a fool, then, as all humans are. I am going to kill your friends, Champion. I shall slaughter them before you so you can see the light leave their eyes as they wonder 'How did our fearless leader fail us so? We trusted him with everything, including our lives, how could he just lay it to waste?' And then, after the last drop of their wretched human blood hits the floor," he grabbed Shiro's face in a crushing grip, "I will slit your throat."

Zarkon released the black Paladin, whose head hung down to touch his chest. "No," Shiro pleaded. "Please, kill me! Don't hurt them, they are children! They are too young to die, just kill me!" The Galran didn't listen to the broken cries of the man. The mighty lord turned to the line of Paladins before him, eyes examining each individual before deciding on the smallest. 

"As you humans say, ladies first," Zarkon mocked as he dragged Pidge to the center of the room to face Shiro. The three boys who had been aligned with her surged forward, the cuffs connected to the wall halting their efforts to rescue the youngest Paladin. Pidge fought and writhed, wide eyes ablaze with the need to live. Whimpers of terror reached Shiro's ears as he stared helplessly at the girl. 

"Pidge!" Shiro gasped, trying to reach her as well. "Katy, don't take your eyes off me, ok?" Shiro watched as Zarkon drew his blade from behind the Green Paladin. Pidge sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she locked gazes with Shiro. "Just...it's gonna be ok...Katy, it's gonna be ok..." Shiro knew it was a dirty lie. He could ensure Pidge's safety no more than he could ensure the safety of the universe. It was out of his control. 

"Such a little thing," Zarkon sighed as he grabbed a fistful of Pidge's honey locks, pulling her head back to bare her throat. He brought his sword to her neck, hovering there as Pidge wept. Lance yelled something incoherent and Hunk closed his eyes, shoulders visibly shaking from what Shiro could see. "Why you would bring a child into this, I have no idea." 

"Please Zarkon," Shiro begged once more, voice cracking with emotion. "They won't cause you trouble ever again. Just bring them back to earth and let them live their live. Torture me, kill me, lock me up until I waste away. Just let them go." Zarkon looked to the Black Paladin, his expression blank. Shiro prayed he was considering the offer. 

However, the Galran just knelt beside Pidge. "Shh, child," he whispered. Pidge tried to move further away as the lord reached to her with his free hand. He tore the gag away from her mouth and she inhaled deeply.

"Shiro!" she cried, voice strained until it could only be akin to the scream of an animal. "Lance, Keith, Hunk! I-" The slice looked swift. Shiro hoped it was swift. He hoped with every ounce of his body that she did not suffer as Zarkon's sword split her throat easily. Shiro couldn't look away from Pidge's eyes as a strangled sound bubbled from her mouth. Blood rushed from the wound and stained the front of her shirt. Lance screamed in agony, Hunk wept, Keith fought with a rekindled fire of ferocity. Shiro, however, could only stare as the baby of the Paladins suffered. 

She did not die instantly. Shiro remembered from somewhere that there was about thirty seconds to a minute before you died from a slit throat. Each second was filled with horrible, rattling breathing from Pidge as she fought for oxygen, collapsing to the ground as she bled. It was the longest thirty seconds of Shiro's life as Pidge locked eyes with him the entire time. She looked so scared, so fragile, so different from her usually sarcastic, touch-me-and-I'll-bite-you-probably self. Shiro felt a tiny piece of his heart die when she closed her mouth, using her last speck of consciousness to close her eyes before her last breath tore itself from her throat. 

It was silent. Shock washed over the Paladins as they stared at her, the angel who had been struck down. A halo of blood formed around her head from her position upon the floor, furthering Shiro's metaphor of an angel. Lance broke the silence. 

He screamed and shrieked, kicking at the wall behind him as best as he could. His eyes were hardened, tears flowing from the hate filled eyes as he struggled to reach Pidge. Shiro felt another piece of his heart die at his friends reaction. He had not been able to protect his friends from this hurt. He hadn't been able to huddle them around and ensure their safety. All he could do was watch and talk, which did little to help them. 

"Poor thing. Too young for this responsibility." Zarkon wiped his sword on Pidge's shirt. Shiro's eyes were empty as he stared at Pidge, half expecting her to sit up and say, "Lol, not today, bitch." But no such thing happened. "While I feel no remorse in taking my revenge on you, I also feel no honor in killing a child with my hands." 

"You monster," Shiro spat. "She was fourteen. Fourteen, you bastard!" Shiro felt the emotion hit him like a sack of bricks and he pulled against the cuffs. "She hardly began to learn about this world and you took it from her! Have you no heart? Damn you!" Shiro grit his teeth as he tried to maul Zarkon with his bare hands. To beat him within an inch of his life, tear Pidge's life from the countless of others upon his bloodstained hands, and bring Pidge back. But such a method didn't exist. Nothing could bring back the dead. 

"Harsh words," Zarkon growled. He sent a distasteful glare to Shiro before a smirk stretched across his features. "Would you rather I chose the oldest, then? The next experienced of the bunch so you feel as though they have lived a longer life?" Shiro shook his head. 

"That's...that's not what I'm saying at all! Don't touch any of them!" Shiro's words were ignored as Zarkon sauntered up to the three youngest Paladins and grabbed Keith by the upper arm. The teen jerked and wiggled to escape Zarkon as he was dragged to the side of Pidge's body. Zarkon tilted Keiths face so he could look straight into Shiro's eyes. Shiro saw the ferocity and determination in the black depths, but it was impossible to miss the clear fear within them. Keith was just a kid, he was scared. 

"You choose this time, Champion. Shall the Red Paladin die? Or, if not," he went back to pull Hunk from the wall, who didn't put up much of a fight, "the Yellow Paladin?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hunky baby ;-;  
> Rest in Memes, Pidge. 
> 
> To be Continued


End file.
